Human
by Griselda Banks
Summary: Oneshot. "How can you be so certain? How do you know that I'm still a human?" "Well, this is gonna sound weird...." A simple moment of non-Elricest brotherly love. No spoilers, but there are mentions of potentially spoilering characters.


**Author's Note: Here is yet another extremely short one-shot that I have no idea where it came from or what it's really about. I guess I just wanted to get out my thoughts on how Ed is so adamant about people being human - one of the anime's main themes (and maybe the manga too). I need to start writing longer pieces.**

"Brother?" Al asked late one afternoon.

Ed merely grunted to show he was listening as he stared listlessly out at the countryside speeding past outside their train window. They were on their way to Central yet again, with little to show for their work once more. Al knew his brother was disappointed and unhappy, discouraged that they _still_ hadn't managed to find a way to restore their bodies. Normally, he would have waited till the train pulled into Central station, and they had booked a room in a hotel somewhere, before he asked his question. Ed's temper was easily roused this time of day, especially after so many repeated failures. But for some reason, Al couldn't wait that long. There was still an hour or so left of their train ride, and then Ed would want to eat something, and maybe fall asleep in his soup (it was becoming an embarrassing trend). Then Al would have to cart his brother away to their hotel room and put him to bed like a baby, and they wouldn't be able to talk until next morning. But Al simply _couldn't_ wait. He _had_ to ask now!

"_What,_ Al?" Ed asked impatiently, breaking into Al's trailing thoughts.

"Oh!" Al jumped, wincing inwardly to hear the loud clank of the plates of his armor. He looked at the seats around them and saw that, once again, they had the entire train car to themselves. "Um, Brother...I just wanted to ask you..." Al hesitated, wondering if he dared ask his brother the question that was on the tip of his proverbial tongue. He wasn't sure he did.

_"Hey, Al... I've...wanted to ask you something for a while...but I've been afraid to ask."_

_"What is it?"_

_"Um..."_

_"Say it."_

_"No, it's okay."_

"Go ahead, Al," Ed softly encouraged, the impatience slowly leaving his face. It seemed he could tell that this was something important, and hard, that Al needed to get off his chest.

Al nodded once and stared down at his hands. "Well...you remember that time a while back...when I didn't think I was...like...real?"

"Yeah?"

"You said I was human then, didn't you? Just like that Slicer person you fought. When we come across creatures that no one else considers human, you always say they _are_ human. What I wanted to ask you, Brother, is...how can you be so certain? How do you know that I'm still a human? I'm not like you at all. I can't cry or feel. I can't smile; I can barely laugh. If you knock my head off, I'm not hurt. Half of my body was completely blown away one time, and I'm still here to tell the tale. Can a human being say that?"

A familiar sad, guilty look entered Ed's eyes, and Al felt horrible for asking his question. Now Ed was feeling guilty all over again for what they had done so many years ago - as if the initial guilt hadn't been enough!

"Here's what I think," Ed said finally, after a horribly long silence. "Some creatures that don't seem human, like chimeras, actually _are_ human."

_Nina,_ Al thought._ Martel._

"And some people who seem human...actually aren't."

_Barry the Chopper,_ Al said to himself. _Kimbley._

"The way I tell the difference," Ed continued, "is by...well, this is gonna sound weird, but by comparing them to you."

Al started with surprise, his body clanking again. Whatever he had been expecting to hear, it was not this. "What do you mean?"

Ed grinned rather sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck so he wouldn't have to meet Al's eyes. "Well...I can tell when a person's human by how much they love someone."

For several moments, Al could only stare at his brother's blushing, grinning face, which in that moment seemed to be the epitome of awkwardness and embarrassment. Then Al began to laugh. For once, he didn't care how different his laugh sounded now it echoed about his empty helmet. His whole body shook and clattered with joy, like a teapot that whistled cheerily as the water inside it boiled.

"Wh-What's so funny?!" Ed demanded, half-annoyed, half-relieved.

"I'm a human! I'm sure of it now," Al laughed, his nonexistant heart soaring inside him. "Know how I can tell? I love you, Brother."


End file.
